Exclamation Team

"Next up is the eighth One-on-One Soul Fight of the day in our Twenty-First Soul Fighting Arena!"

"The two Soul Grandmasters entering the arena are Chang Sheng, Master Chang, who has already achieved nine consecutive victories! Facing him is Master White Ring, who has likewise won nine matches in a row!"

"Everyone has surely heard of Master White Ring. That's right! He is the first, and one of only two, Soul Masters to participate in the Great Soul Arena's One-on-One Soul Fights as a Support System Soul Master and achieve victory! And his nine-win streak is more than enough to prove his strength!"

"But today, Master White Ring faces a powerful opponent. Can he continue his winning streak and once again disprove the common belief that Support System Soul Masters have no combat ability? Let's wait and see!"

Le Bai entered the arena wearing a mask. His opponent, Chang Sheng, emerged from the opposite passageway as well.

"Ha! So you're that freak who's clearly a Support System Soul Master but still came to compete in One-on-One Soul Fights!"

Chang Sheng was a young man in his twenties. He looked ordinary, but a scar on his face made him seem somewhat vicious. "Looks like I'll be able to get the reward for my tenth consecutive win easily today! Hahaha!"

The host announced at just the right moment, "The Soul Fight begins!"

Before the host's voice could spread any farther, before Chang Sheng could even summon his Martial Soul, Le Bai had already left a footprint on the arena floor and rushed in front of him, slapping his entire body into the wall.

If Le Bai had not held back slightly, the scene would probably have needed censoring.

Having dealt with his opponent, Le Bai immediately returned through the passage he had entered from.

Behind him came the announcement of Le Bai's victory, followed by cheers after a brief silence.

By the time Le Bai returned to where Oscar and the others were, 4 minutes and 57 seconds had passed.

"You came back? I thought you'd just run away!"

When Ning Rongrong saw Le Bai return, she raised an eyebrow and mocked him without restraint. "Looks like you got lucky and met a very weak opponent."

"If you enjoy saying things like that, you might as well say a little more."

Le Bai smiled as he shot back, "Otherwise, once I produce results, you'll have to start correcting yourself. By then, you won't be able to say such unpleasant things anymore."

Ning Rongrong was not yet capable of smiling while retorting like Le Bai. She gave a cold snort, tossed her head, and took the initiative to walk toward the front desk. "Let's register!"

Le Bai made a ╮(╯▽╰)╭ gesture at Oscar and the other two, then followed Ning Rongrong.

After the two had gone some distance away, Dai Mubai suddenly asked in a low voice, "How long do you think it'll take Le Bai to win a one-against-two fight using only level twenty-two Soul Power?"

Oscar thought for a moment. "Even for Le Bai, if he can only use level twenty-two Soul Power, it should take at least a minute. If both opponents happen to be level twenty-nine, it'll be even harder. It might stretch to three minutes."

"I think that estimate is about right too."

Dai Mubai said Oscar's estimate was accurate, then asked Ma Hongjun, who was still thinking, "What are you thinking about? You've been at it for a while."

"Um... I think that if it's Le Bai, even if he faces level twenty-nine opponents, he should only need... ten seconds."

Ma Hongjun spoke, thought, and nodded at the same time. "Yeah, ten seconds at most. If it takes longer than that, it means Le Bai didn't go all out."

"You really have that much confidence in Le Bai!"

Dai Mubai looked at Ma Hongjun with amusement. "Then if you guess wrong later, treat Xiao Ao and me to a meal!"

Ma Hongjun asked back, "What if you two guess wrong, or all of us guess wrong?"

"If Xiao Ao and I are wrong but you're right, then Xiao Ao and I will treat you to a meal together."

Dai Mubai smiled. "If we're all wrong..."

"Then we'll pretend nothing happened."

Oscar said as he picked his nose.

At the front desk, Le Bai and Ning Rongrong handed over their badges together. Le Bai was more familiar with the process, so he handled the conversation. "Hello, may I ask whether applying for a Two-on-Two Soul Fight requires registering as a team?"

"Yes."

The Great Soul Arena staff member explained expressionlessly, "And once a team is registered, it cannot be changed. Unless you cancel the original information, pay the registration fee again, and register anew. Doing so will void all previously earned records. In addition, if your points are negative, re-registration is generally not permitted."

Le Bai nodded to show that he understood. "Then is there an option for temporary teams? For example, two people might simply want to experience a Two-on-Two Soul Fight once to confirm whether they are suitable teammates. That should be quite common. Does the Great Soul Arena have any measures for that?"

"Sorry, no."

The staff member remained expressionless. "Whether you are suitable teammates is not something the Great Soul Arena needs to consider. You can test yourselves elsewhere, confirm whether you are suited to be teammates, and then come here to register."

Ning Rongrong had only registered today, so at worst she would just have to pay once more.

But Le Bai had already won ten matches in a row and was about to advance, yet because of Ning Rongrong, he had no choice but to cancel his registration...

"What, you can't even bear to part with a Copper badge?"

Ning Rongrong sneered. "And you still want to make me exclaim?"

"Don't misunderstand. It's not that I can't bear to part with the Copper badge."

Le Bai said seriously, "It's that I can't bear to lose the extra reward brought by my current ten-win streak!"

"I don't care!"

Ning Rongrong folded her arms. "I've already made my request. Whether you do it or not is up to you."

"Sigh, fine."

Le Bai took out his badge and prepared to hand it to the staff member. Then he turned to Ning Rongrong and asked, "Think of a team name. Even if I'm only teaming up with you temporarily once, we still need a team name."

"No need."

Ning Rongrong refused. "Teaming up with you is limited to tonight only."

"Fine."

Le Bai handed over his Iron badge, which was already eligible for advancement. "The team name will be Exclamation Team."

"Alright."

The staff member performed a series of practiced operations, engraved the team name on both Iron badges, and handed them back. "Registration is complete. From now on, the two of you may register for Two-on-Two Soul Fights under the name Exclamation Team."

Le Bai said, "Register us immediately. We'll have a match tonight."

Another set of swift, practiced operations followed.

"Registration complete."

The staff member pushed the badges back. "Your Two-on-Two Soul Fight will take place at Soul Fighting Platform No. 34. Please prepare in advance. If you miss the Soul Fight time, it will be considered that the two of you have forfeited the match. Please take note."

"Thank you for the reminder. I'll remember."

Le Bai nodded in thanks and accepted the badges.

Ning Rongrong silently picked up her own badge. After following Le Bai for a while, she retorted, "You were really polite to that front desk worker, even though he isn't even a Soul Master."

"It was only basic courtesy."

Le Bai turned to look at Ning Rongrong. "If that staff member had followed the rules completely, he had no obligation to remind me to watch the time. But he did remind me. Even if it was only a casual mention, it was extra consideration for us, a gesture of goodwill. Whether or not I accept that goodwill, a casual 'thank you' costs me nothing. But to him, it means respect."

Ning Rongrong scoffed at that. "Are ordinary people even worthy of a Soul Master's respect?"

"It has nothing to do with whether someone is a Soul Master."

Le Bai turned back around and continued walking. "Only those who know how to respect others can earn the respect of others."

I received a site message. Recommendations will begin on the afternoon of October 4th. Following industry convention, there will be extra chapters.

However, three updates a day is already my limit. Any more would affect the quality of the work.

Therefore, the period of extra updates will be extended.